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Christian Carols 



LOVE AND LIFE 



ELEANOR C. DONNELLY 



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PHILADELPHIA 

H. L. KiLNER & Co. 

PUBLISHER* 



2nd COPY,, 
1896. 



tlVED. 



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Copyright, 1898, by Eleanor C. Donnelly. 



U- ^f<fO0 



TO THE MEMORY 

OF 

MY FATHER, 

Cbe late Dr. PMlip Carroll Donnelly, 

THIS LITTLE BOOK 
IS DEDICATED. 



FINDING LIST. 



PAGE 

EASTKR EVE ••» 

CHRIST HATH RISEN V2 

HER FIRST EASTER H 

JESUS, THE LORD OF GLORY 17 

THE ROSE-JAR 21 

THE ALLELUIA OF THE PASCH 21 

THE EASTER TRUCE OF TROVES 2(1 

THE VISION IN THE FLOWERS -JO 

THE TRUE EASTER :V2 

WITH EASTER FLOWERS 34 

I AM THE RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE ! . 35 

O QUEEN OF HEAVEN, REJOICE ! 3!) 

EASTER HYMN OF THE SACRED HEART ... W 

THE SINNER'S PASCH 45 

PILGRIMS' HYMN OF ST. HILDEBERT .... W 

WHEN THE LILY BLOOMED 4H 

CAROL OF A LATE EASTER 51 



Christian Carols of Love and Life. 



€a$ter €pe. 

EHIND the heavy, rock-barr'd door, 
Low-stretch 'd upon the granite floor, 

The dead Christ lies— His blessed face 
Full of a wordless peace and grace. 

O Angels, watching near the Dead, 
Loose ye the napkin from His head ; 

And lift the winding-sheet that veils 

The dear Flesh, torn by scourge and nails ; 

That we may creep beneath its fold, 

And Love's dread recompense behold ! 
9 



From out each livid wound, there flows 
A lovely, lambent flame, that glows 

Like red, auroral fire, when day 
Paves (as with gold) the orient gray : 

An odorous flame, beyond compare 
With spices sweet or unguents rare. 

Good friends, 'twere bootless work to wind 
Your cere-cloths round Him, — or to bind 



With shimmering lengths of linen bands 
His mangled limbs and bleeding hands ! 

These outstretch'd Arms, ye can not close — 
Earth's sinners i/iere must seek repose ! 

This Heart's red wound, ye dare not hide — 
Earth's saints must in its depths abide ! 



And at these Feet, tho' swathed in gloom, 
Earth's myriad mourners must find room ! 

O Love ! nor shroud, nor cerements white 
Can shut Thee from our longing sight ! 

O Love ! nor guard, nor sealed door 
Can keep us from Thee ! On the floor, 

Like creeping things, we come to kiss 
Thine ev'ry wound. With tender bliss 

Of gushing tears and rapturous sighs, 
We worship where Thy dear corse lies ; 

And clasp Thy feet, all bruised and torn, 
And, like to Magdalen forlorn, 

With faith and hope and love, essay 
To wait Thy Resurrection Day ! 



£Dri$t l)atl) Ki$cm 



/^S the glorious sun on high 
l—f Rends apart the night's dark cloud ; 
J As the radiant butterfl}- 

Springs from out its dusky shroud 
As the lily from the mold, 

Blossoms in its robes of snow ; 
Or, from out its ashes cold, 

Mounts the phoenix, all aglow, — 

Out of Death's sepulchral prison 
Christ hath risen ! 



Sleep the Roman guards as dead ;- 
Where the stone is rolled away, 

Shining angels watch instead 
On this beauteous Easter Day. 

Vain the spices, unguents sweet, 
Which the holy women bring : 



Blessed head and bleeding feet 
Need no more Love's minist'ring. 

Hark ! that burst of song Elysian- 
Christ hath risen ! 



Speed the rapturous news abroad — 

Give it to the breezes free ! 
Every chorister of God, 

Weave it into melody ! 
Hearts that bleed and heads that bow, 

See, He cometh from afar ! 
Living pearls, His teardrops glow, 

Every wound is like a star ! 

Up ! adore the shining Vision ! 
Christ hath risen ! 



13 



Ber Tirst easier. 

N the dark hush before the dawn of day, 
The Mournful Mother kept, in grief pro- 
found, 
Her lonely vigil. Sign was none, nor 
sound 
Of waking morn, when, sudden, all the gray 
Its Alleluia sang in one red ray, — 

Slender at first, but broadening as she gazed, 
Till from its fiery fullness, burst away 
A white-robed Presence with pierced Hands 
upraised ! 

Ah! then she. knew Him who, swift-footed, 
came 
To clasp her to His heart ! — Her God, her 
Son 
Cried from His every wound, with tongue of 
flame, 
' ' Rejoice, My love ! Be glad, My sinless one ! 
Last at the Cross — now art thou first to claim 
The Risen Christ ! * * * The new Pasch 
hath begun ! " 



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ESUS, the Lord of glory, 

Springs from the tomb, with life im- 
mortal won ! 
Darkness and death before Him 

Flee, like the clouds before the sun ! 
No more He'll languish 
In pain and anguish. 
His might doth vanquish 
Mortality ! 
Oh ! banish sadness. 
And Error's madness ; 
Awake to gladness, 

He is free ! 




Joy in the heavens above us ! 

Angels exult, — your King, your God is nigh ! 
Joy ! that the Lord so loved us, 

For men to suffer and to die ! 




Oh ! then returning, 
With ardor burning, 
And humbly mourning 

Our treachery ; 
With God to bless us, 
His love caress us, 
His grace possess us. 

We are free ! 




18 



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Che Rose-3ar. 

OUND this little jar, replete 
With a wealth of spices sweet, 

(Wither'd roses, fragrant-mass" d), 
On this blessed Easter Eve. 
Doth my rev "rent fanc}- weave 
One lov'd legend of the past. 



Tall and fair, I seem to see 
Three veil'd figures flit by me 

Thro' the early morning gloom 
Each her wimple closely wearing 
Each her jar of spices bearing 

To the holv Garden-Tomb ! 




Mary, Mother of the Lord, 
Mary Magdalen, who pour'd, 

Once, her ointment on His head 
And that other Mary, mother 
Of Salome, and James her brother 

Bringing unguents for the Dead. 

•Ji 




Oh ! the glory of that hour ! 
Christ hath risen in His power — 

He shall spices need no more ! 
He hath heard the plaintive moan : 
"Who shall roll us back the stone 

From the sepulchre's dark door? ' 



And, as falls the winding-sheet 
From His sacred, wounded Feet, 

And, as upward springs the Lord 
To the new and splendid ray 
Of the holy Easter Da)'— 

Angels wait upon His word. 



Angels cry : "He hath arisen ! 

He hath burst the Grave's black prison ! 

Seek Him not among the dead ! 
Christ the living, Christ the glorious, 
Over Death and Hell victorious, 

Into Galilee hath fled ! " 



These the \vords that haunt mine ear 
In the Paschal twilight here — 

Ere the chimes begin their ringing 
Ere the Angels' '' Resurrexit ! 
Alleluia ! Sicut dixit ! " 

Thro' the dawn its bliss is flinging. 



This, the Vision that arises 
From my little jar of spices, 

Rich with rose-leaves' rare perfume,- 
Vision of the Risen Christ, 
And the holy Easter-tryst 

Of the Marvs at His Tomb ! 





Cbe jFllleluid of tDe Pascb. 

/^LLELUIA ! the bells are ringing, 
^ Up, high np, in the golden dawn ; 
ALLEI.UIA ! the choirs are singing, 
Passiontide and its shadows srone. 



AivLELUiA ! the birds are trilling 

Over the eggs in their new-made nests : 

Field and meadow and garden filling 

With th' joy o'erflowung feathered breasts. 



The world of nature round us rises 

Clad in resurrection green ; 
The world of grace all heav'n surprises 

With risen "lories, earth unseen ! 



At.t.et,uia ! chants the river 

To hill and mountain, sky and sea ! 

Evermore and still forever, 

Float the echoes back to me : 
24 



Echoes of an Angel-chorus 

(White-robed in the garden gloom), 
Shouting to the welkin o'er us : 

" Christ hath risen from the tomb ! " 



All my heart springs up in greeting 
To the rapture of the word : 

'Alleluia ! "—glad repeating— 

" Hail, thrice hail, Thou Risen Lord ! 





Cbc Caster Cruce of Croyc$.* 

T~7rOM Rheims, Besangon, Cambria, 
j(«) From Langres, and from Auxerre, 
\ King Attila, the savage Hun, 
Marched upon Troyes fair, 
(Where watched the people and their priests 
Three days and nights in prayer.) 



'Twas Easter Eve— long gathered. 

In fear, suspense, and cold, 
The sinners made their Paschal shrift 

In the Cathedral old: 
When thund'rous sounds of coming strife 

Thro' door and window roll'd. 



Swift to the holy altar, 
The men, affrighted, fled; 

And with one shout of anguish 
Called on their sainted head. 

Called on their bishop, Lupus, 

To meet th' invader dread. 
2G 



up rose the fearless prelate, 
Donn'd mitre, stole, and cope 

With crosier, cross, and clergy 
Went forth, assured in hope, 

To bid the pale-faced warders 
The city's portal ope. 




There, 'mid his blood-stain'd soldiers, 

Meeting the royal Hun : 
' ' Who art thou ? ' ' spake majestic 

Tro^-es' anointed son ; — 
** King Attila, the Scourge of God / " 

Replied the cruel one. 



" Thrice blessed be His love divine ! 

Whatever ill betide — 
Since all that Heaven sends is good," 

(The gentle bishop cried) : 
'* The Scourge of God is welcome here- 

Fling all the portals wide ! " 




'Twas done ; they met and mingled, 

Assailer and assailed ; 
The women wept and trembled, 

The children shrieked and wailed ; 
And the red cheek of the stoutest man 

With terror shrank and paled. 



Till one cried : " Resurrexit ! 

The Lord Christ save us all ! " 
And the blessing of the Prince of Peace 

Upon them seemed to fall — 
Besieger and besieged 

Binding in one sweet thrall. 



For, thro' the silent, kneeling throngs 
That all the roadways lined, 

The mob of fierce marauders 
Passed onward, mute and kind. 

As harmless as the summer breeze 

That leaves no wreck behind. 

28 



" Laus Deo ! " Bishop Lupus said : 
" Safe are my children still ! 

King Attila and all his hordes 
Can work no wrong nor ill 

To them that meet the Scourge of God 
Submissive to God's Will ! " 





Cbc Uision in tbe Tlowers. 

IIvIES of snow, tulips of gold, 

Bless'd be the hand that sent them me! 

Deep in their fragrant cups, they hold 
An Easter memor3\ 



A fair young face, like a lily white, 
Ivong soft strands of golden hair, 

Rise from the depths of th' flow'rets bright, 
In Paschal glory rare ; 



The waxen lids o'er the dim blue eyes, 
Seem to quiver their fringe of gold ; 

Cheeks, like the roses of Paradise, 
Their velvet bloom unfold : 



And a sunbeam smile from the silent lips 
Of the dear dead darling, downward flows, 

Till the harp 'neath her perfect finger-tips 
In golden splendor glows. 



30 



O virgin vision ! sweet Elaine I 
Far fairer than the maid begot 

Of poet dreams— (that child of pain, 
The Ladve of Shalott)— 



Out of the Easter of the heart, 
Thou risest beauteous to behold, 

Forming a pure and tender part 
Of all things white and gold ! 



No knight of Arthur's princely court, 
But Christ our King, thy Love shalt be !■ 

Moored is thy barque in Heaven's port — 
Elaine, sweet peace to thee ! 





(The word Easter, according to St. Jerome, signifies a 
change and a passage. St. Bernard says, referring to 
this: "Our Lord, passing to a new life, invites us to 
follow Him, to change our lives." 



HAT doth it profit us to rise with Christ, 
.\nd share with Him new life on 
Easter Sunday, 
If, straightway, by the olden snares 
enticed, 
We die to Him by sin on Easter 
Monday ? 



To fast, to pray— to watch and meditate 

From Mardi Gras till Resurrection morning, 

And then, to keep a Saturnalian/^/^ 

For moons to come — all prayer and penance 

scorning : 

32 



Is this to rise with Christ in fear and love 
The cerements of the grave forever quitting ? 

Is this to seek the things that are above, 
Where Christ is at His Father's right hand 
sitting ? 

Ah ! no, our Easter is a passage sure, 

A change from midnight gloom to noonday 
splendor : 

The great stone rolled away, and angels pure 

Lighting the tomb with lustrous eyes and 

tender ! 

■ ^ 

X 

A passage to that land where Grace and Peace, 
Like Easter lilies, bloom in full perfection. 

From vice to sever, and from sin to cease, 
Ah ! this it is to share Christ's Resurrection ! 



t--w^?^w^_9 



Ulitb Caster Tlowers. 

ERE are Heart's ease for thy sorrows, 
Pleasant pansies for sad thoiight, 
Passion-flowers, Easter lilies, 
With the season's fragrance fraught. 



But the fairest flower among them, 

(Of fond Memory begot, i 
Is this tender, slender blossom, love. 

The dear Forget-me-not '. 



34 



**T am me Resurrection and the Cite!** 

'^J^IS written on each leaf in lines of gold, 
( ^ On sunlit green of bush and budding 
tree ; — 
Enaniell'd by young violets on the lea, 
It pearls each lily with its tracery, 
Each silvern daisy peeping from the 
mold. 

The birds have caught its music on the wing ; — 
It trills and trembles in each feather'd throat, 
As upward, upward, with triumphant note. 
Thro' sweeps of shining space, the songsters 
float: 

The ver\' vapors rise to hear them sing. 

O fountains, fling your waters in their wake, 
And let your Alleluias swell the lay ; 
Each crystal drop, each wreath of rainbow 

spray 
Is chanting with the glorious Easter Day : 

" I will arise— arise, for Christ's dear sake ! " 



"Arise!" the church-bells chime: "all flesh, 
arise ! 
Come forth, pale Sleepers ! Loose the grave- 
yard gate ! ' ' 
" Xot yet ! " the Dead reply : " not yet ! — We 

wait 
The Resurrection and the Life — the great 
Celestial Easter — Pasch of Paradise ! " 




36 



Queen of IScaccn, Rejoice ! 

HE bells clash wild in the Easter dawn, 
I In the rosy, rapturous Easter morning 
Now high — now low. 
Now fast - now slow, 
The bells ring on, ring on, ring on — 
All touch of sorrow scorning ! 
Regina coeli lartare ! 



Dance, happv sun, in the cloudless sky ! 
The Tomb is rent and the Dead arisen 1 
The bliss of the bells 
To the wide world tells 
Of Mother Mary's joy on high, 

And of souls released from prison ! 
Regina cceli Icetare ! 



€a$ter Uymn of m Sacred Bcart/ 

©INFINITE Power, almighty, supreme ! 
O Heart of our new-risen Saviour 
and God ! 
We come in our need, in our weakness extreme. 
To share in the blessings Thou sheddest 
abroad. 
We tremble— we faint— we are helpless and 
frail— 
Ah ! let the strong arm of Thy mercy uphold 
Our feeble endeavors. Thro' I^ife's dreary vale. 
Support with Thy might the weak lambs of 
Thy fold. 

O Heart of our God ! O God of our 
heart ! 
O Beauty and Brightness that naught 
can transcend ! 
Thy grace and Thy love to our spirits 
impart ! 
Thy glory, Thy will be our joy to 
the end ! 

40 



O infinite Wisdom, resplendently bright, 

Forever illuming a Heart all divine ; 
Descend on the shadows which curtain our 
night, 
And thro' its thick darkness, triumphantly 
shine ! 
We grope 'mid the gloom— we are blinded with 
doubt, 
O Light of the world ! be our counsel, our 
stay ; 
Ah ! let the sweet star of Thy Wisdom blaze out. 
Thy Heart's brilliant lustre illumine our way ! 

O Heart of our God ! O God of our 
heart ! 
O Rainbow of Hope, where all ben- 
isons blend ! 
Thy grace and Thy love to our spirits 
impart, 
Thy glory. Thy will be our joy to 
the end ! 



41 



O infinite Love, ever ancient, yet new ! 
Thy Heart is aflame with the Spirit's warm 
breath. 
No waters can quench, or those fires subdue, — 
They are older than Time ; they are stronger 
than Death ! 
O Heart of all hearts ! let Thy mystical fires, 
Like sparks 'mid the reeds, set our bosoms 
aglow ; 
Enkindle our coldness, inflame our desires. 
Refine us like gold — make us pure as the 
snow ! 

O Heart of our God ! O God of our 
heart ! 
O Risen Redeemer ! our Master, our 
Friend ! 
Thy grace and Thy love to our spirits 
impart. 
Thy glory, Thy will be our joy to 
the end ! 



42 





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Cbe Sinner's Pascb. 

HEN to the sinless Mary came her Son, 
On Easter morn, new-risen from 
the grave. 
All things in silent secrecy were done, 
No whisper to the winds their greet- 
ing gave ; 



But when He showed Himself to Magdalen 
In open garden, near the Tomb fresh-riven, 

Convincing proofs He there proclaimed to men, 
How dear He holds poor sinners, Love- 
forgiven ! 



--®#^ 



45 



Pilgrims' l)ynin of $t, Biiaebert 

From the Latin of Longfelloiv' s " Golden Legend.'' 




RECEIVE me, full of pity, 
David's Sion, tranquil City ! 



a -..-. 

^ 



Thine the Builder, God of might, 
Author of eternal light ! 

Thine, the gates of deathless wood, 
Fashioned from the Sacred Rood ; 

Thine, the locks whose wards are swung 
By the key of Peter's tongue. 

Thy fair citizens are ever 
Joyous in their pure endeavor ; 

While on walls of living stone 

Guards the festive King, His throne! 
46 



In this City of delight, 
Shineth always lustre white. 

Spring eternal, lasting peace 
Floods its streets with solemn bliss. 

Sweetest odors fill the skies — 
Festal strains forever rise ! 

III. 

Heav'nly City ! City blest ! 
On the Rock of Ages rest ! 

J* 

City in a haven safe. 

Where the waves ne'er roar nor chafe, 

From afar, I thee salute 
With a rapture absolute ; 

Thee, I hail with glowing fire, 
Thee, I sigh for — thee desire ! 



OPbeit the Lily Bloomcl' 



P in an attic, high and bare, a lonely 
couple dwelt apart, 
Ragged and old and pinched by care, yet 
strangely gentle and pure of heart. 

Leading their life of dreary want, they meekly 

bless'd the dear Lord's name. 
For, now and then, to their doleful haunt, 

gifts from one of His lovers came: 



Gifts from a woman, fair, humane — the cher- 
ished child of a noble house. 

Chained to her couch of prayer and pain, the 
suflf'ring bride of a suff'ring Spouse. 

Lo ! while her bounty scaled the stair — fuel 

and raiment, wine and food — 

Under the eaves, the aged pair brooded over 

a sotnething crude — 
48 



A broken basin filled with clay, whence, from 

its hidden root below, 
A slender plant had push'd its way, almost 

afraid to green or grow. 



Out of its centre, peeped the head of an unblown 

bud (hope's harbinger) : 
"When the lily blooms," the old folks said, 

"its first sweet flower shall be for her!''' 



II. 



Day by day, on her couch afar, the sick girl 

wasted and waned apace ; 
Day by day, like a dawning star, the fair white 

bud unveiled its face ; 



Till, one bright Easter morn, full-blown — its 
regal splendors well displayed — 

The lily was borne from the attic lone to the 
home of the noble, suff'ring maid. 



49 




Alas ! when the old folks meekly turned to the 
stateh' spot where their lady dwelt, 

In a curtain'd chamber, the death-lights burned : 
and round a coffin the mourners knelt. 




Like a waxen saint in a rosewood shrine, the 
maiden smiled in her dreamless sleep ; 

Her hands were folded, — a peace divine lighted 
her face with its rapture deep ; 



For, through the lids of her soft-sealed eyes, a 

golden radiance seem'd to dart, 
As if they were gazing in Paradise on the 

glorious flames of the Sacred Heart ! 



Gently the aged fingers laid the fresh-blown 

lily on her cla}' — 
" Glory to Thee, sweet Lord ! " — they prayed : 

" for both Thy lilies have bloom'd to-day ! " 



Carol of a Eatc easier. 



HE lovely pink of the blossoming 
peach, 
The apple's snowy bloom 
Are filling the land with loveliness, 
The air with rich perfume 

Resurrexit siciit dixit ! 
Alleluia ! Alleluia ! 



The birds are building under the eaves, 

Singing the song of home ; 
Up from the depths of their glossy leaves, 
The tender violets come. 

Resurrexit sicut dixit ! 
Alleluia! Alleluia! 



Daisies and buttercups o'er the fields 

Are strewn, like silver and gold. 
Which the lavish purse of Nature yields. 
Flung from her jocund hold. 
Resurrexit sicut dixit ! 
Alleluia! Alleluia! 





O hearts, rejoice ! the gloom of Lent 
Hathpass'd with the wintry days ; 
And peace and joy and cahn content 
Fill Eastertide with praise ! 

Resurrexit sicut dixU! 
Allelic ia ! A llelu ia ! 



No more by sin or self entic'd, 

O children of the King ! 
Arise, arise with the Risen Christ, 
In the glory of the Spring ! 

Resurrexit sicut dixit ! 
Alleluia! Alleluia! 



^ 



52 



ADDENDA. 



^ The adaptation of this Carol to a martial 
melody by Donizetti will account for its irreg- 
ularity of metre. 

- First published in Our Lady of Good 
Counsel. 

•* First published in Donahoe' s Magazine. 
■* First published in The Rosary. 
^ Adapted from a longer poem by the author 
in the Ave Maria. 

""• First published in the Messenger of the 
Sacred Heart. 








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